Epidemiology, Politics, and Dental Public Health

Consistency of information on the provision of water fluoridation in Brazil

“…However, its efficacy is intricately tied to monitoring the quality of drinking water concerning the fluoride parameter and relies on accurate information regarding its supply. Ensuring the effectiveness of its provision is a pivotal step in promoting oral health on a population level and mitigating inequalities in access to dental care 2 . This is particularly critical in Brazil, where public spending on oral health has been limited to 0.07% of gross domestic product (GDP) 3 , whereas in some European countries with similar economies, it has reached 0.12% of GDP 4 .…”

Oral health guidelines in the primary care policies of five selected countries: An integrative review

“…The 2008 World Health Report on Primary Health Care recommends that health systems, including the oral health sector, create mechanisms towards equity based on universal access and social protection, re-organize services around people’s needs in a comprehensive way, develop public policy reforms to integrate public health actions with the PHC structure, and promote leadership of intersectoral and international collaboration towards a stronger and integrated health system [2] , [9] . Despite this, in most countries, oral health services delivery is traditionally organized through the private sector, which provides services focused on the biomedical model and outside of the primary care structure [10] , [11] .…”